
Copyright N^.. 



CCBMGHT DEPOSm 



FICTION AND TRUTH 

ABOUT THE 

BATTLE 

ON 

Lexington Common 

APRIL 19, 1775 



By frank warren COBURN 



A PAPER READ BEFORE THE 

LEXINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
Tuesday Evening, December 12, 1916 



LEXINGTON, MASS., U. S. A. 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 

1918 



COPYRIGHT 

1918 

FRANK WARREN COBURN 



FEB I9i9r8-' 

F. L. COBURN & CO., PRINTERS. BOSTON, MASS. 

©GI.A492318 

AH?, I 



CONTENTS 



Authorities ..... 


v 


Prefatory 


7 


First Provincial Congress . 


11 


Second Provincial Congress 


12 


Third Provincial Congress 


13 


The Narrative .... 


14 


Depositions 


16 


Deposition of Solomon Brown, Jon- 
athan LoRiNG AND Elijah Sanderson 


16 


Deposition of Elijah Sanderson . 


16 


Thomas Rice Willard 


17 


Simon Winship 


17 


Capt. John Parker 


18 


John Robbins . 


19 


" Benjamin TiDD AND Joseph 
Abbott 20 


Deposition of Nathaniel Mulliken 




AND THIRTY-THREE OTHERS . 


20 


Deposition of Nathaniel Parkhurst 




AND THIRTEEN OTHERS 


21 


Deposition of Timothy Smith 


22 


Levi Mead and Levi 
Harrington 


22 


Deposition of William Draper . 


22 


Thomas Fessenden . 


23 


John Bateman 


24 


Lieut. Edward Thorn- 
ton Gould 


24 


The Ezra Ripley Depositions 


27 



IV 


CONTENTS 




Deposition of John Richardson . 


28 


t < 


Samuel Hartwell . 


29 


it 


Robert Douglass . 


30 


K 


Sylvanus Wood 


31 


Testimony of Paul Revere . 


32 


Testimony of Rev. Jonas Clarke 


33 


Official Report of Lieut. Col. Smith 


35 


Major Pitcairn's Version 


36 


Governor Gage's Version . 


38 


Ensign De Bernicre's Version 


40 


A British Officer's Version 


42 


Statement 


OF the Third Provincial 




Congress 


. 


43 


Testimony of Levi Harrington . 


44 


The Phinney Depositions 


45 


Deposition of James Reed 


46 


(i ( 


Abijah Harrington 


46 


(< < 


Amos Lock 


47 


( 1 ( 


' Elijah Sanderson . 


48 


(I < 


William Tidd 


49 


(( ( 


Joseph Underwood 


50 


( i t 


John Munroe . 


50 


(( ( 


Ebenezer Munroe . 


53 


<• i 


Nathan Munroe . 


54 


(< t 


Sargeant William Mun- 






roe . . . . 


55 


Plea for Pu 


blication of all Contem- 




porary Ev 


IDENCE . . . . 


58 


Names of T 


hose Who Returned the 




British Fii 


[IE 


59 



AUTHORITIES 

The Journals of Each Provincial Congress of Massa- 
chusetts IN 1774 AND 1775, [etc.,] and Other Docu- 
ments. Published Agreeably to a Resolve Passed 
March 10, 1837. Boston, 1838. 
Containing the Journals of each of the three Congresses ; 
Narrative of the Excursion of the King's Troops April 19, 
1775 ; the fifteen Depositions herein cited ; the Letter of Gov. 
Jonathan Trumbull of Conn., to His Excellency Thomas 
Gage ; the latter's Reply; the British Official Account. 

A History of the Fight at Concord on the 19th of 
April, 1775, [etc.] Showing that Then and There the 
First Regular and Forcible Resistance was Made 
to the British Soldiery, [etc.]. Concord, 1827. 
Containing the four Depositions herein cited. 

Life of Colonel Paul Revere, by Elbridge Henry Goss. 
Boston, 1891. 
Containing the Narrative of Paul Revere reproduced in 
fac- simile. 

Report of Lieutenant-Colonel F. Smith in Proceedings 
OF THE Massachusetts Historical Society, 1875-6. 
[Commencing on page 350.] Boston, 1876. 

Ensign De Bernicre's Narrative, as Printed in the Col- 
lections of the Mass. Historical Society, Vol. IV., 
2nd Series. Originally printed in Boston in 1779. 

The Diary of a British Officer in Boston in 1775, in 
The Atlantic Monthly April and May, 1877. 

Levi Harrington's Account, Manuscript in the Pos- 
session of Messrs. Charles W. Swan and George D. 
Harrington, of Lexington. 



VI AUTHORITIES 

History of the Battle of Lexington, on the Morning 
OF THE 19th April, 1775. By Elias Phinney. Boston, 
1825, [reprint of 1875]. 
Containing the ten Depositions herein cited. 

History of the Siege of Boston. By Richard Frothing- 
HAM. Second Edition. Boston, 1851. 
Containing Major John Pitcairn's Version as quoted by 
Ezra Stiles, D. D. 

A Sermon Preached at Lexington April 19, 1776, to 
Commemorate the Murder, Bloodshed, and Com- 
mencement OF Hostilities [etc.], to which is Added 
A Brief Narrative of the Principal Transactions 
OF THE Day. By Rev. Jonas Clarke. Boston, 1776. 



Prefatory. 

The many historical accounts of the battle of 
Lexington are founded upon the Narrative and 
Depositions of the Second Provincial Congress; 
on those gathered by other hands; on the testi- 
mony of eyewitnesses; and on the British offi- 
cial reports. 

These are sadly at variance with each other. 

Unfortunately the group that Americans nat- 
urally turn to, those of the Second Provincial 
Congress, fail to inspire in the breasts of Lex- 
ingtonians, any feelings of patriotic fervor. 

They are insufficient; they are misleading; 
they suppress a portion of the truth ; and there- 
fore the impression they convey is a false one. 

Because of the standing of Congress as the 
highest American authority many writers have 
accepted that report as conclusive. 

There are two accounts of the battle that this 
Society delights to honor, one by Elias Phinney, 
published in 1825, and another by Charles Hud- 
son^ in his excellent History of Lexington, pub- 
lished in 1868. 



8 BATTLE ON LEXINGTON COMMON 

Neither relied entirely upon the official account 
of the Second Congress. 

In grateful remembrance of their work, so far 
as I may, I dedicate this hour. 

When our energetic president came to me a 
few months ago and requested a paper upon our 
favorite topic, I was obliged to confess that I 
had no new or strange offering. With his per- 
mission and approval I agreed to arrange all of 
the very old material in such form that we might 
judge candidly, by comparison, of its true value. 

I therefore invite your attention to a brief 
synopsis of all of the American and British offi- 
cial accounts, and of all of the testimony of wit- 
nesses. 

Bear in mind that it is not my aim to advance 
a theory and support it by a partial presentation 
of testimony. 

You will find in these witnesses which I sum- 
mon, repetitions, contradictions, inconsistencies. 

I present them all without apology. It shall 
be your privilege to separate the wheat from the 
chaflf, — the Fiction from the Truth. 



Fiction and Truth About the Battle on 
Lexington Common. 

The battle on Lexington Common was fought 
one hundred and forty-one years ago. 

From that time until today historical writers 
have been seriously misled by the first American 
official account of that event. 

On that morning the few men who stood fac- 
ing the king's soldiers were loyal subjects. They 
had their grievances, but within them still burned 
a faith, that somehow, — sometime, — not too far 
away, their prayers for redress would be listened 
to and answered. 

After that fatal second volley Captain Parker's 
men were indeed rebels. 

When the smoke of battle had cleared away, 
when their vengeance had been fully wreaked 
upon the invaders, many of them, — not all, — lis- 
tened to the calmer counsel of their Congress, 
whose plea seemed to be for peace, — peace, but 
with justice and honor. 

Such an adjustment could be reached only by 
placing the martyrs' wreath upon the graves of 



10 BATTLE ON 

Lexington's slain. It was the immediate pur- 
pose of the Congress to do exactly that. 

Accordingly on April 22, three days after the 
battle, a committee of nine was appointed by the 
Congress to gather depositions of participants 
and spectators, and on the next day, April 23, a 
committee of three was appointed to prepare a 
Narrative of the Excursions of the King's Sol- 
•diers to accompany those depositions. 

Dr. Church, Mr. Gerry, and Mr. Cushing con- 
stituted that committee. 

The Narrative and Depositions were published 
in the following month of May, by Isaiah Thom- 
as, at Worcester. 

I find no serious departure from the truth, 
either in Narrative or Depositions, except as they 
fall far short of the whole truth, — and thus mis- 
lead and hide from our view the complete battle 
scene, with the result that erroneous conclusions 
have been drawn and may still be drawn. 

What was the motive of Congress in publish- 
ing this misleading report? 

Simply this : reconciliation was hoped for and 
expected, and it could easier be obtained by min- 
imizing the offence of the colonists, and magni- 
fying the offence of the king's soldiers ! 

Fortunately all of Parker's command were not 
willing to co-operate in the plan of Congress, so 



LEXINGTON COMMON 11 

their signatures do not appear beneath those de- 
positions. Years afterward, however, some were 
gathered by other hands, and thus we have the 
more finished story. 

It IS my purpose in this essay to analyze all of 
the first ones^ and to place with them four others, 
gathered many years afterwards, that seem to be- 
long to that side of the controversy. 

In opposition to those I propose to also give an 
analysis of all other depositions and narratives 
of participants and eyewitnesses, together with 
the British official accounts, that we may see 
clearly the real happenings of that brief half 
hour. 

First, let us consider briefly the civil authority 
under which the provincial military forces were 
acting. 

Who constituted the First Provincial Congress 
of Massachusetts? 

The Royal Governor, Gen. Thomas Gage, had 
issued his writs on Sept. ist, 1774, calHng upon 
the inhabitants to return representatives to the 
Great and General Court, to be convened at 
Salem, Oct. 5, but, between those dates, becom- 
ing alarmed at the extraordinary resolves passed 
by some of the County Conventions, and instruc- 
tions given by Boston and some other towns to 
their representatives, thought the time was not 



12 BATTLE ON 

auspicious for such a gathering. Therefore, he 
issued a proclamation countermanding his first 
call. 

However, ninety elected representatives met, 
on Oct. 5, at Salem, and awaited the Governor — 
who failed to appear. 

They adjourned to the next day, Oct. 6th, and 
then met as a Convention, and chose John Han- 
cock, Chairman, after which they adjourned 
until the next day, Oct. 7, when they met 
again, and then declared themselves to be a 
Provincial Congress. 

John Hancock was chosen Permanent Chair- 
man. 

Thus the First Provincial Congress was made 
over by themselves, from the duly elected mem- 
bers of the Great and General Court, which 
would have recognized Gen. Gage as their royal 
Governor, into a self constituted legislative 
body, whose whole legislative work was to be in 
direct antagonism to him, and to the English 
Parliament. 

They were dissolved by their own vote Dec. 
10, 1774. 

The Second Provincial Congress was prac- 
tically a direct representative gathering of the 
people. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 13 

They convened at Cambridge, Feb. i, 1775, 
and dissolved May 29, following. 

The Third Provincial Congress, also elected 
by the people, convened at Watertown, May 
31, and dissolved July 19, 1775. 

On July 20, 1775, the succeeding General 
Court of Massachusetts, consisting of a Coun- 
cil and a House of Representatives, enacted 
that all and every of the Resolves of the 
Provincial Congresses, from Oct. 4, 1774, to 
July 20, 1775, be confirmed and established as 
lawful and valid, thus legalizing all of the Acts 
of their predecessors. 

The official Narrative of the battle which 
we are to consider, was the work of the Sec- 
ond Provincial Congress. 

The Proclamation issued by the Third Pro- 
vincial Congress, June 16, 1775, we shall also 
briefly consider, because of its variance from 
the Narrative. 

Almost every vote of the First and Second 
Congresses was in preparation for a defensive 
war. The sessions were behind closed doors 
and those votes were in secret. Openly they 
frequently pledged their loyalty to their gov- 
ernor, their king, and their mother country, 
expressions that we must look upon as insin- 
cere, in fact, merely as measures of diplomacy. 



14 BATTLE ON 

For instance, on Oct. 29, 1774, the First Pro- 
vincial Congress appointed a Committee to 
present a communication to his Excellency, 
Governor Gage, which contained this sen- 
tence : — 

"We trust, sir, that we shall not fail in our 
duty to our country and loyalty to our king, 
or in a proper respect to your excellency."* 

Yet every session bristled with rebellious 
activity. 

The Second Provincial Congress, in an ad- 
dress to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, 
dated April 26, 1775, and speaking of the rav- 
ages of the King's troops on the 19th of April, 
affirmed their continued loyalty nevertheless, 
in these words: — 

"We profess to be his loyal and dutiful sub- 
jects, and so hardly dealt with as we have 
been, are still ready, with our lives and for- 
tunes, to defend his person, family, crown and 
dignity." 

And yet nearly 4,000 minute men had must- 
ered on the previous 19th of April to oppose 
their sovereign's troops. 

We must look upon the Narrative of the 
Excursions of the King's Troops, promulgated 



*Journals of Each Provincial Congress, page 45. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 15 

by the Second Congress, as a part of the dip- 
lomatic history of that Congress. 

The opening sentence shows conclusively 
that the Congress did not yet wish to be con- 
sidered as rebels, for it accuses the King's 
troops of shedding: ''the blood of sundry of 
the loyal American subjects of the British 
king in the field of Lexington." 

It continues by reciting how a detachment 
of about 900 men, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Smith, attacked a small party of about loo in- 
habitants of Lexington and other adjacent 
towns, some with and some without firearms. 

The detachment were proceeding on their 
way at a brisk pace towards Concord, as the 
inhabitants supposed, to take or destroy a 
quantity of stores deposited there, for the use 
of the Colony. 

The inhabitants were far from being dis- 
posed to commence hostilities against the 
troops of their sovereign, and unless attacked 
were determined to be peaceful spectators of 
this extraordinary movement. 

On the approach of Col. Smith with the de- 
tachment under his command they dispersed, 
but the detachment, seeming to thirst for 
blood, wantonly rushed on and killed eight on 



16 BATTLE ON 

the spot and wounded several others, before 
any guns were fired by our men. 

Not contented with this effusion of blood, 
as if malice had occupied their whole souls, 
they continued the fire until all of the small 
party who escaped the dismal carnage were 
out of reach. 

Colonel Smith then proceeded to Concord. 

The Depositions were fashioned to support 
the Narrative. 

The Committee appointed to take them were 
not looking for the entire truth, but only that 
portion of it which could be fashioned in sup- 
port of their accusations against the King's 
soldiers. 

Deposition of Solomon Brown, Jonathan Lor- 

ing, and Elijah Sanderson, Jointly, Dated 

April 25. 

They have nothing to say as to the action 
on the Common, but tell of being detained 
and abused by the British officers the night 
before, and on that morning. 

Solomon Brown could have told an interest- 
ing story, but it was not required. 

Deposition of Elijah Sanderson. 
The next deposition is by the same Elijah 



LEXINGTON COMMON 17 

Sanderson, separately, who swore April 25, 
that he saw the regular troops advancing to- 
wards the Lexington Company, *'many of 
whom were then dispersing," and that he 
heard one officer say, ''damn them — we will 
have them ;" that the regulars shouted aloud, 
run and fired on the Lexington Company, 
"which did not fire a gun before the regulars 
discharged on them." 

''Eight of the Lexington Company were 
killed while they were dispersing." 

Deposition of Thomas Rice Willard. 

Thomas Rice Willard, in his deposition of 
April 23, states that he was in the Daniel Har- 
rington house, and on looking out of the win- 
dow saw the regulars approach the minute 
men within eight or nine rods, at which time 
the militia dispersed, and that an officer hol- 
lowed after them to lay down their arms; and 
"that there was not a gun fired till the militia 
of Lexington were dispersed." 

Deposition of Simon Winship. 

The next deposition is that of Simon Win- 
ship, dated April 25, who was taken prisoner 



18 BATTLE ON 

by the British earlier in the morning, and was, 
with them as they came to the Common. 

When within an eighth of a mile of the 
meeting house the commander ordered the 
troops to halt and load. Then they marched 
on, and when within a few rods of Parker's 
Company, saw an officer at the head of said 
troops flourishing his sword, and heard him, 
in a loud voice, give the order to fire. He con- 
cluded his deposition by saying that there was 
no discharge of arms on either side until that 
order to fire. 

Deposition of Captain John Parker. 

Captain John Parker's deposition comes 
next, and is dated April 25.* He ordered, and 
I quote his own words, "our militia to meet 
on the common in said Lexington, to consult 
what to do, and concluded not to be discov- 
ered, nor meddle, or make with said regular 
troops, if they should approach, unless they 
should insult or molest us; and upon their 
sudden approach I immediately ordered our 
militia to disperse, and not to fire. Imme- 
diately said troops made their appearance, and 



♦April 23, in fac-slmile in Hudson's Lexington, I, 218. 
There are otlier slight differences between his two dep- 
ositions but not materially changing his meaning. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 19 

rushing furiously on fired upon and killed 
eight of our party without receiving any 
provocation therefor from us." 

The Captain said nothing of a return fire. 
Taken altogether, his deposition is the most 
unfortunate one of all for us to consider. 

I cannot reconcile his statement with his 
action. He said they ''concluded not to be 
discovered," yet it is well known and accepted 
by all that his first order on learning of the 
British approach, was for Dimond to sound 
the alarm upon his drum, — which Pitcairn ac- 
cepted as a challenge. Parker quickly fol- 
lowed it with other orders to his company to 
load with powder and ball, and to form for 
action practically across the British path. 

Deposition of John Robbins. 

The deposition of John Robbins, dated April 
24, is next. 

He testified that he was in the front ranks 
of Parker's Company when there suddenly ap- 
peared about a thousand of the King's troops, 
as he thought, at a distance of sixty or seventy 
yards. Three officers on horseback were in 
front, the foremost of whom cried: ''throw 
down your arms ! ye villains ! ye rebels !" 

Upon which the Company dispersing, that 



20 BATTLE ON 

foremost officer gave the order to fire. Rob- 
bins was wounded and fell, and several of our 
men by his side were shot dead. 

Parker's men, he believed, had not then fired 
a shot. 

Deposition of Benjamin Tidd and Joseph 
Abbott. 

Benjamin Tidd, of Lexington, and Joseph 
Abbott, of Lincoln, unite in a deposition under 
date of April 25. 

They were mounted on horses, and were on 
the Common as spectators, when the regulars 
marched up to the Lexington Company, which 
was then dispersing. Soon after, the regulars 
fired, first a few guns, which Tidd and Abbott 
took to be pistols, then a volley or two, before 
any guns were fired by the Lexington Com- 
pany. 

Deposition of Nathaniel Mulliken and Thirty- 
three Others. 

Nathaniel Mulliken and thirty-three others 
unite in one deposition, dated April 25. 

They admit having been alarmed, and in 
consequence, of meeting at the place of the 
Company's parade, meaning on the Common, 



LEXINGTON COMMON 21 

and were dismissed by the Captain for the 
time. 

About five o'clock, hearing the drum beat, 
they proceeded towards the parade, and found 
that a large body of troops were marching 
towards them. Some of the Company had 
reached the parade, and some were coming, at 
which time the Company began to disperse. 

"Whilst our backs were turned on the troops, 
we were fired on by them, and a number of our 
men instantly killed and wounded. Not a gun 
was fired by any person in our company on the 
regulars, to our knowledge, before they fired on 
us." 



Deposition of Nathaniel Parkhurst and 
Thirteen Others. 

Nathaniel Parkhurst and thirteen others unite 
in a deposition dated April 25. 

They testify that at the drum beat, they at- 
tended, and formed on the parade, faced towards 
the regulars. Some of the Company were com- 
ing to the parade, with their backs towards the 
troops, and others on the parade began to dis- 
perse, when the regulars fired — before a gun 
was fired by any of Parker's Company. 



22 BATTLE ON 

Depositon of Timothy Smith. 

Timothy Smith, whose deposition was dated 
April 25, testified that he was on the Common as 
a spectator. 

He saw a large body of troops marching 
towards the Lexington Company, — then dispers- 
ing, — and likewise saw the regular troops fire, — 
before the Lexington Company fired a gun. 

Deposition of Levi Mead and Levi Harring"- 
ton. 

Levi Mead and Levi Harrington unite in a 
deposition, dated April 25^ to the effect that they 
were on the Common as spectators, and saw the 
regular troops marching towards the Lexington 
Company. Some were on horseback, whom they 
took to be officers, who fired a pistol or two on 
the Lexington Company, which was then dis- 
persing, and those were the first guns that were 
fired. 

Nothing said of any return fire. 

Deposition of William Draper. 

William Draper, probably as a spectator, and 
whose deposition was taken April 25, testified 
that the regulars appeared at the meeting house, 
and that Parker's Company, which was drawn 



LEXINGTON COMMON 23 

Up back of said meeting house, turned from 
said troops and made their escape by dispersing. 
The regular troops "made an huzza," ran 
towards Parker's Compan}^ and immedi- 
ately after the commanding officer of said 
troops, as Draper took him to be, gave the order 
to fire, and they did fire, before any of Parker's 
Company fired. 

Deposition of Thomas Fessenden. 

Thomas Fessenden swore, April 23, that he 
was in a pasture near the meeting house when 
he saw the regular troops pass the meeting house 
on their way towards the Lexington militia. He 
saw three officers on horseback advance to the 
front of said regulars. One of them, when 
within six rods of the militia, cried out : "dis- 
perse you rebels immediately," on which he 
brandished his sword three times. The sec- 
ond officer, about two rods behind, fired a 
pistol pointed at the militia. The regulars 
huzzaed until the officer finished brandishing his 
sword, and when he had finished brandishing his 
sword, he pointed it at the militia, — and immedi-^ 
ately the regulars fired. 

Fessenden further testified that as soon as the 
officer cried : "disperse, you rebels," the said 
company of militia dispersed every way as 



24 



BATTLE ON 



fast as they could, "and while they were dis- 
persing, the regulars kept firing at them in- 
cessantly." 

Fessenden said nothing of a return fire. 

Deposition of John Bateman. 

John Bateman belonged to the 52nd Regiment 
of the British. He swore, on April 23, that he 
was with the party marching to Concord. 

At Lexington there was a small party of men 
gathered, and he heard the word of command 
given to the troops to fire, — and some of said 
troops did fire, — and he saw one of said party 
lie dead on the ground nigh said meeting house. 

And he further testified that he never heard, 
to use his own words : ''any of the inhabitants 
so much as fire one gun on said troops." 

Deposition of Lieutenant Edward Thoimton 
Gould. 

Lieutenant Edward Thornton Gould, of his 
Majesty's own regiment, under date of April 
20, swore that he embarked with the forces 
under Colonel Smith on the evening of the 
i8th, landed on the marshes at Cambridge, 
and proceeded to Lexington. On arrival at 
that place they saw a body of provincial 
troops, armed, to the number of about sixty 
or seventy men. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 25 

**On our approach, they dispersed, and soon 
after firing began, but which party fired first 
I cannot exactly say, as our troops rushed on, 
shouting and huzzaing, previous to the firing, 
which was continued by our troops so long 
as any of the orovincials were to be seen." 

So much for the fifteen Depositions that 
accompany the Narrative. 

To those were signed sixty-four names, all 
participants or eyewitnesses, most of them of 
Parker's Company. 

In all of the Depositions there is not a posi- 
tive statement that any of Parker's Company re- 
turned the fire at all, though in nine out of fif- 
teen it is hinted at in that left-handed sentence 
that no man in Parker's Company fired, until 
he was fired upon ! 

We are left to conjecture whether he did then 
or not. 

Are there any omissions of names that we 
might expect to find there? 

Yes! 

In Parker's Company were more than a dozen 
Munroes; but only two, John, Jr., and William, 
3rd., can be found subscribed to the Depositions ! 

Why? 

Jedidiah was wounded on the Common in the 
morning; and his patriotic spirit, not having been 



26 BATTLE ON 

subdued, continued until he was killed in the 
afternoon. 

Ensign Robert was among those who were 
slain. 

Ebenezer, Jr., and John stood side by side 
through the first and second volleys, and then 
dispersing, deliberately fired back. Ebenezer 
had been wounded, and his return fire was his 
answer to the British bullet. 

John, son of Ensign Robert, might have seen 
his father fall, for not many paces could have 
separated them, ere he sent back that second 
double leaden answer. 

Those two Munroes were certainly conspicu- 
ous in their enmity to the king's soldiers, and 
their signatures would not have been a graceful 
addition to the Depositions of the Provincial 
Congress. 

Concede to the others bearing that family 
name, the well-known family traits, and we are 
not mystified because they were not enrolled 
with the sixty-four, under Dr. Church's ban- 
ner. 

There were other names that the Provincial 
Congress would have been glad to add to their 
peace document, but they were not available. 

Years after, some of them subscribed to an- 



LEXINGTON COMMON 27 

Other set of Depositions, which we shall soon 
contrast with those of 1775. 

As we finish considering the official report of 
the Provincial Congress, let us pay our respects 
to the chairman of the Narrative part. 

Dr. Benjamin Church was a part of Boston's 
contribution to the Congress. By reputation he 
was a man of sterling patriotism, enthusiastic 
in the duties assigned to him, — effective in 
their accomplishment. 

Secretly he was in sympathy with the mother 
country. In the following November cipher 
letters of his were intercepted by Elbridge Gerry, 
and it was found that he had been in correspon- 
dence with the enemy. 

He was condemned by the Massachusetts 
Legislature, for treason, and sentenced to im- 
prisonment for life. His health failing, he was 
allowed to leave the country. He embarked for 
the West Indies, but the ship on which he sailed 
was never again heard of. 

Just to what extent Dr. Church dominated the 
Narrative and Depositions committees, we can- 
not determine ; but the tragic ending of his po- 
litical career casts its dark shadows backwards 
to Lexington Common. 

The Elzra Ripley Depositions. 

I will add to those fifteen Depositions four 



28 BATTLE ON 

more, valuable in some respects, but so much in 
sympathy with the idea that Parker's men dis- 
persed immediately upon Pitcairn's request, and 
without firing hardly a gun in response, that they 
should be a part of the same group. 

Those four were probably the last sworn state- 
ments of survivors ever taken. They first ap- 
peared in the History of the Concord Fight, by 
Rev. Ezra Ripley, with the assistance of some 
other citizens of Concord, and published in 1827. 
Mr. Ripley's pamphlet was intended to be a 
reply to the one by Elias Phinney, and it was his 
evident ambition to place the commencement of 
the American Revolution at the Concord North 
Bridge. 

In the back part of his pamphlet he published, 
in whole or in part, eight of the depositions of 
1775, including the one by Captain John Parker, 
and the four new ones, which he or some of his 
assistants, had gathered for that particular use. 

The new ones were by John Richardson, Sam- 
uel Hartwell, Robert Douglass and Sylvanus 
Wood. 

Deposition of JoJin Richardson. 

John Richardson, of Newton, under date of 
June 25, 1827, swore that he was at Lexington 



LEXINGTON COMMON 29 

on the 19th of April. He did not claim that he 
was present in the morning. 

No mention was made in his hearing of the 
Americans having fired upon the British on that 
morning; that those events were a constant 
topic of conversation for a long time after; that 
he never heard that any individual in Parker's 
Company had fired upon the British "until 
the visit of Gen. Lafayette to this country 
in 1825, with the exception of one gun, which 
was said to have been fired by Solomon Brown, 
while standing in the back kitchen, of the tavern, 
then owned by Buckman, now Meriam." 



Deposition of Samuel Hartwell. 

Samuel Hartwell, of Lincoln, in a deposition 
taken July 19, 1827, swore that he had been ac- 
quainted with the inhabitants of Lexington, and 
particularly with many who were of Captain 
Parker's Company on the 19th of April, 1775, 
and did not recollect that any of the people of 
Lexington ever stated that there was any firing 
by Parker's Company, "until within a few 
years, except the firing of one gun, after the 
British had turned and were passing off the 
Common." 



30 BATTLE ON 

Deposition of Robert Douglass. 

Robert Douglass, of Portland, Me., under 
date of May 3, 1827, swore that he was at his 
father's house, in Woburn, on the morning of 
April 19, and about an hour before daybreak a 
man rode up and knocked loudly at the door, 
and announced the coming out of the British, 
and that he must turn out and repair to Lexing- 
ton. 

He joined Sylvanus Wood, and they went to 
Lexington together, arriving there half an hour 
before sunrise. 

He heard Parker order his drummers to beat 
to arms. He paraded with the Lexington Com- 
pany, and marched to the Common, near the 
Bedford road, where they were ordered to load 
their guns. 

Some one said : — 

"There are so few of us it would be folly to 
stand here." 

Parker replied : — 

"The first man who offers to run shall be shot 
down." 

The British came in sight, gave three cheers, 
and ran towards the Lexington Company, who 
began to break on the left wing, and ran off, and 
were soon dispersed. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 31 

No one of Parker's Company fired on the 
British, to his knowledge, said Douglass. He 
further stated that he knew but two men of the 
Lexington Company, and that he never heard 
any person say that the Americans fired on the 
British that morning. 

Deposition of Sylvanus Wood. 

Sylvanus Wood, of Woburn, swore June 17, 
1826, that he was alarmed by the ringing of the 
bell, presumably on Lexington Common, about 
an hour before daybreak, on the morning of the 
19th. 

He was then in Woburn, about three miles 
away. 

He and a companion scon reached the Com- 
mon, and found Captain Parker and others, al- 
ready assembled. 

Parker begged the two to join his Company, 
and they did, taking their places in line, at once. 

The British soon appeared, and the com- 
mander ordered the Lexington Company to lay 
down their arms and disperse, and gave the order 
to fire. 

Wood thought that only powder had been 
used, for no one was hurt. Just then, he said, 
Parker ordered every man to take care of him- 
self. 



32 BATTLE ON 

Not a gun was fired by any of Parker's Com- 
pany, within his knowledge. 

While they were dispersing the second platoon 
fired and killed some of our men. 

One man told him some years afterwards^ that 
while the company was dispersing, he had given 
them the "guts of his gun." 

Wood did not name the man, but that expres- 
sion has been credited to Ebenezer Munroe, Jr. 

Both Douglass and Wood actually knew so 
little of the happenings after the second volley, 
that it is safe to conclude they lost no time 
in accepting Pitcairn's suggestion to "dis- 
perse." 

So much for Mr. Ripley's contribution to 
our historical literature. 

Testimony of Paul Rervere, 

Paul Revere wrote an interesting account of 
his celebrated ride; and as he saw and heard 
just a little of that opening scene, which he 
included in that account, I will give it a place 
here. 

After he had been released by the British 
officers, not far from the Common, he sought 
out Hancock and Adams, and accompanied 
them for about two miles in their flight. He 
and another man then returned to the Buck- 



LEXINGTON COMMON 33 

man Tavern to rescue a trunk of papers be- 
longing to Hancock. 

Looking out of the chamber window they 
saw the ministerial troops approaching and 
made haste to escape. They passed through 
Parker's Company, who were on the Com- 
mon, and heard the commanding officer 
(meaning Parker) speak to his men to this 
purpose, and I quote Revere's words exactly, 
as his quotation of Parker's : — 

"Lett the troops pass by, & don't molest 
them with out The begin first." 

He had not got half gun shot off when the 
troops appeared in sight. They made a short 
halt, when one gun was fired. Revere heard 
the report, turned his head, and saw the 
smoke in front of the troops, who then gave a 
great shout, ran a few paces, — and then the 
whole fired; first irregular firing, then by pla- 
toons. 

He could not then see our militia, for they 
were covered from him by a house.* 

Testimony of Rev. Jonas Clarke. 

Rev. Jonas Clarke, pastor of the Church in 
Lexington, delivered a sermon April 19, 1776, 



►Goss's Life of Paul Revere, page 220. 



34 BATTLE ON 

to commemorate the Commencement of Hos- 
tilities, to which he added a Narrative of the 
Principal Transactions of the Day. A valu- 
able account, but presumably mostly hearsay, 
so not appropriate for consideration here. 

I am glad to use, however, two sentences 
referring to what he actually saw : — 

"After the militia company were dispersed 
and the firing ceased, the troops drew up and 
formed in a body, on the Common, fired a vol- 
ley and gave three huzzas, by way of triumph, 
and as expressive of the joy of victory and glory 
of conquest ! — ! — Of this transaction, I was a 
witness, having, at that time, a fair view of their 
motions, and being at the distance of not more 
than 70 or 80 rods from them." 

Upon the foregoing, excepting the testi- 
mony of Paul Revere and the Rev. Jonas 
Clarke, are based all of the historical accounts, 
that do but scant justice to Parker's com- 
mand. 

The grave fault lies, not so much with the 
historian and the orator, who have used that 
material, as it does with the committees that 
prepared it, and the Congress that published it. 

Fortunately for the military history of our 



LEXINGTON COMMON 35 

town, there is a good treasury of better mate- 
rial, to which I invite your attention. 

Official Report of Lierut.-Col. F. Smith. 

The commander of the first detachment of 
the King's troops was Lieut. -Col. F. Smith. 

His official report, addressed to Governor 
Gage, dated at Boston, April 22, relates clear- 
ly his mission to proceed to Concord, and de- 
stroy the ammunition, artillery, tents, etc., 
collected there ; — of the utmost expedition 
and secrecy of his march; — of the country's in- 
telligence and suspicion of his coming; — and 
of the signal guns and alarm bells along the 
way. 

He speaks of detaching six light companies 
ahead, to seize the two Concord bridges; and 
of their arrival at Lexington, which part I will 
quote in his own language : — 

"I understand from the report of Major Pit- 
cairn, who was with them, and from many 
officers, that they found on a green close to 
the road, a body of the country people, drawn 
up in military order, with arms and accoutre- 
ments, and, as appeared after, loaded ; and 
that they had posted some men in a dwelling 
and Meeting-house. Our troops advanced to- 
wards them, without any intention of injuring 



36 BATTLE ON 

them, further than to inquire the reason of 
their being thus assembled, and if not satis- 
factory to have secured their arms; but they 
in confusion went off, principally to the left, 
only one of them fired before he went off, and 
three or four more jumped over a wall and 
fired from behind it among the soldiers; on 
which the troops returned it and killed several 
of them. They likewise fired on the soldiers 
from the Meeting and dwelling-houses. We 
had one man wounded and Major Pitcairn's 
horse shot in two places. Rather earlier than 
this, on the road, a countryman from behind a 
wall had snapped his piece at Lieutenants 
Adair and vSutherland, but it flashed and did 
not go off." 

Lieut.-Col. Smith's report for the entire ex- 
pedition is equally as interesting and valuable, 
and not particularly unfair in any part of it. 

He signed it: — 

"F. Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel loth Foot." 

Major Pitcairn's Version. 

Richard Frothingham, Jr., in his History of 
the Siege of Boston, second edition, quotes 
Stiles, in his manuscript diary, as to Pitcairn's 
version of the beginning of the firing: — 



LEXINGTON COMMON 37 

''Ezra Stiles, D.D., President of Yale College, 
in his Diary, under date of 1775, August 19 — 
says: 'Major Pitcairn, who was a good man 
in a bad cause, insisted upon it, to the day of 
his death, that the colonists fired first ; and 
that he commanded not to fire, and endeavored 
to stay and stop the firing after it began : but 
then he told this with such circumstances as 
convince me that he was deceived, though on 
the spot. He does not say that he saw the 
colonists fire first. Had he said it, I would 
have believed him, being a man of integrity 
and honor. He expressly says he did not see 
who fired first ; and yet believed the peasants 
began. His account is this : That riding up 
to them, he ordered them to disperse; which 
they not doing instantly, he turned about to 
order his troops to draw out so as to surround 
and disarm them. As he turned, he saw a 
gun in a peasant's hand, from behind a wall, 
flash in the pan without going of¥; and in- 
stantly, or very soon, two or three guns went 
off, by which he found his horse wounded, 
and also a man near him wounded. These 
guns he did not see; but believing they could 
not come from his own people, doubted not, 



♦Ezra Stiles, D.D., LL.D., graduate, tutor, president of 
Yale See Harper's Cyclopedia of U. S. History. F. W. C. 



38 BATTLE ON 

and so asserted, that they came from our 
people, and that thus they began the attack. 
The impetuosity of the king's troops was 
such, that a promiscuous, uncommanded, but 
general fire took place, which Pitcairn could 
not prevent; though he struck his staff or 
sword downwards with all earnestness, as the 
signal to forbear or cease firing.' " 

Govemor Gage's Version. 

Under date of April 28, 1775, Jonathan Trum- 
bull, Governor of Connecticut, addressed a letter 
to His Excellency, Thomas Gage, in which he 
admitted he was not sure of every part of his 
information, but by the best intelligence they had, 
the late transaction was a most unprovoked at- 
tack upon the lives and property of his majesty'3 
subjects. He assured him that the people of 
that Colony abhorred the idea of taking up arms 
against the troops of their sovereign, — ^but were 
most firmly resolved to defend their rights and 
privileges to the last extremity. 

He concluded, by asking if there was no way 
to prevent the unhappy dispute from coming to 
extremes ? 

Governor Gage replied from Boston under 
date of May 3, in a lengthy letter, in which he 
assured Governor Trumbull that the information 



LEXINGTON COMMON 39 

he had received as to the late excursion of the 
Troops was altogether injurious and contrary to 
the facts; and for his better information he en- 
closed a narrative of that afifair taken from gen- 
tlemen of indisputable honor and veracity, who 
were eye witnesses of all the transactions of the 
day. 

The official account by Governor Gage covers 
the entire excursion, as does the report of Lt. 
Col. Smith, but I will only consider the few sen- 
tences that are applicable to Lexington Common. 

It is stated that Lt. Col. Smith first called his 
officers together, and gave orders that the troops 
should not fire unless fired upon. 

After marching a few miles Major Pitcairn 
and six companies of light infantry were de- 
tached to take possession of the two bridges on 
the other side of Concord. 

Within two miles of Lexington intelligence 
was received that about 500 men in arms were 
assembled to oppose the king's troops. 

Major Pitcairn, galloping up to the head of 
the advance companies, was informed by two 
officers, that a man advanced from those that 
were assembled, presented his musket, and at- 
tempted to shoot them, but the piece flashed in 
the pan. 

When they arrived at the end of the village 



40 



BATTLE ON 



they observed about two hundred armed men, 
drawn up on a green, and when the troops came 
within one hundred yards of them, they began to 
file off towards some stone walls on their right 
flank. 

The light infantry, observing this, ran after 
them. 

The Major instantly called to the soldiers not 
to fire, but to surround and disarm them. Some 
who had jumped over the wall,, fired four or five 
shots at the troops, wounded a man of the loth 
Regiment, and the Major's horse in two places, 
and at the same time several shots were fired 
from a meeting house on the left. Then, with- 
out order or regularity, the light infantry began 
a scattered fire, and killed several of the country 
people, but were silenced as soon as the author- 
ity of their officers could make them. 

The account concludes with this sentence : — 

''Thus this unfortunate affair has happened 
through the rashness and imprudence of a few 
people, who began firing on the troops at Lex- 
ington."* 

Ensign De Bernicre's Version. 

Early in the year Gen. Gage had sent Ensign 
De Bernicre on a spying expedition for the 



''Journals of Bach Provincial Congress, pages 180 and 679. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 41 

purpose of discovering the location and 
amount of military stores in and around Con- 
cord and other places. 

He accompanied the troops on their expedi- 
tion as guide, and has left an interesting account 
of his experiences and observations on that 
day. 

I will quote that part which tells of Lexington 
Common : 

"The troops received no interruption in their 
march until they arrived at Lexington, a town 
eleven miles from Boston, where there were 
about 150 rebels drawn out in divisions, with 
intervals as wide as the front of the divisions; 
the light infantry who marched in front halted, 
and Major Pitcairn came up immediately and 
cried out to the rebels to throw down their arms 
and disperse, which they did not do; he called 
out a second time but to no purpose; upon 
which he ordered our light infantry to advance 
and disarm them, which they were doing, when 
one of the rebels fired a shot, our soldiers re- 
turned the fire and killed about fourteen of 
them; there was only one of the loth light in- 
fantry received a shot through his leg; some 
of them got into the church and fired from 
it, and were soon drove out. We then continued 
our march to Concord." 



42 BATTLE ON 

A British Officer's Version. 

The Diary of a British Officer in Boston in 
1775 was pubHshed in the Atlantic Monthly in 
April and May, 1877. It was furnished by R. 
H. Dana, Jr., who, in an editorial introduction, 
confessed that he did not know who was the 
author, but careful investigation had resulted in 
determining that it was either Lieut. Peregrine 
Francis Thorne, or Lieut. David Hamilton, both 
in the King's Own Regiment.* 

The writer of the Diary was in the expedition 
to Lexington, and speaks of reaching there at 
5 o'clock, where he, to quote his own words: — 
"saw a number of People, I believe between 
2 and 300, formed in a Common in the middle 
of the Town ; we still continued advancing, 
keeping prepared against an attack, tho' with- 
out intending to attack them ; but on our coming 
near them they fired one or two shots, upon 
which our Men without any orders rushed in 
upon them, fired and put 'em to flight; several 
of them were killed, we cou'd not tell how 
many, because they were got behind Walls and 
into the Woods. We had a Man of the loth 
light Infantry wounded, nobody else hurt. 



*The editor of the new edition of Hudson's History of 
Lexington names him Lieutenant Barker. Vol. I, page 
155. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 43 

We then formed on the Common, but with some 
difficulty, the Men were so wild they cou'd 
hear no orders; we waited a considerable time 
there, and at length proceeded on our way to 
Concord." 

Statement by the Third Provincial Congress. 

The Third Provincial Congress opened at 
Watertown, May 31. 

On June 16, less than two months after the 
battle, and but twenty-two days after the pub- 
lication of the Narrative and Depositions, it 
issued a Proclamation to the People. 

It contained no claim of loyalty to the King, 
for it was intended more particularly for Ameri- 
can readers^ a great majority of whom would 
not care to be longer classed as loyalists. It did 
not quite advocate colonial independence, — but 
love of the mother country was not professed. 

Speaking of the scene on Lexington Common, 
it recited how eight men had been cruelly mur- 
dered, and then continued, — and I quote the 
exact language: — 

'The fire was returned by some of the sur- 
vivors, but their number was too inconsiderable 
to annoy the regular troops." * * * 

And a little further along it reads : — 

"This action of the troops destroyed every 



44 BATTLE ON 

hope of coming to any accommodation with 
them." 

Thus it was officially recognized, by the 
highest civil authority, that out of Parker's 
sixty or seventy men, there were indeed some 
who had the courage to return the fire of Pit- 
cairn's four hundred, a statement the previous 
Congress lacked the courage to express. 

Testimony of Levi Harrington. 

Daniel Harrington was the Clerk of Parker's 
Company, and stood in line on the Common that 
morning. 

His son, Levi Harrington, then a youth in 
his fifteenth year, was a spectator of that thrill- 
ing scene. He lived until 1846, and a few 
months before his death gave to his son, Bowen 
Harrington, his recollections of the action. 

That manuscript is now in the possession of 
some of his descendants, and I have been per- 
mitted to copy it. 

He speaks of the mortal wounding of Jonas 
Parker by a ball passing through his body, and 
tells how he had placed his hat and ammunition 
on the ground between his feet, and fired at the 
British as they approached; how it exhausted 
the little remaining strength he had, and so he 



LEXINGTON COMMON 45 

sank upon his knees. While in that position 
Parker attempted to load and fire again, but 
the Grenadiers reached him and put an end to 
his life with their bayonets. 

Levi Harrington died in his 86th year. Had 
he lived to be a hundred, I doubt if that scene 
would have slipped from his memory. 

Depositions Taken for the History of the 
Battle by Elias Phinney. 

On Dec. 13, 1824, the Town of Lexington 
appointed a committee to collect and publish 
any reliable data as to the battle that might be 
found. 

That committee consisted of nine members, 
and included Elias Phinney, who acted as the 
historian. 

His book was first published in 1825. 

Among the valuable facts which they as- 
sembled were the depositions of ten men, eight 
of whom were of Captain Parker's Company, 
and six of those were in line on that April morn- 
ing. The others were spectators, or on the field 
during the day. 

Those depositions were taken in 1824 and 
1825, about fifty years after the battle; there- 
fore the deponents had grown into old age. 



46 BATTLE ON 

As we look over that list of names, contain- 
ing as it does some of the most substantial in 
the Revolutionary history of our town, I hardly 
think we shall be justified in questioning their 
memory or their mentality. 

When one who has reached his three score 
years and ten can look back to his early youth 
— to some particular day, — to some particular 
hour, — to some particular moment, — when he 
stood before a line of blazing muskets, aimed to 
kill, — aimed to kill him, — such a scene can never 
be eflFaced from his memory. 

He may forget trivial events of a dozen years 
ago, or even of yesterday; but he will ever re- 
member the wounded and bleeding companion 
at his side, — the slain one at his feet! 

Deposition of James Reed. 

Of those ten depositions, that of James Reed, 
Jan. 19, 1825, is of the least value to us in the 
present consideration, for he tells only of the 
British prisoners captured soon after the regu- 
lars had left for Concord. 

Deposition of Abijah Harrington. 

Abijah Harrington, on April 4, 1825, swore 
that he heard the firing in the morning, and that 



LEXINGTON COMMON 47 

soon after the troops left he went up to the 
meeting house, and to the spot where they stood 
when they fired on our men, and that he dis- 
tinctly saw blood on the ground, which was a 
little descending, and that it had run along the 
road six or eight feet. He also swore that a 
day or two after, he was talking with Solomon 
Brown of the blood he had seen in the road, 
and that Brown told him it was where the regu- 
lars stood when he fired at them, and he must 
have hit some of them. 

Harrington was then between fourteen and 
fifteen years of age. 

Deposition of Amos Lock. 

Amos Lock swore, on Dec. 29, 1824, that he 
and Ebenezer Lock responded to the ringing of 
the bell, and on reaching the meeting house 
found the militia collecting. Shortly after, some 
person came up the road and reported that no 
regulars were coming, so they concluded to re- 
turn to their families. 

They had not proceeded far before they heard 
firing, and immediately returned. 

Under cover of a wall they found Porter, 
about twenty rods from where the British then 
were, shot through the body, upon which 
Ebenezer Lock took aim and fired at the British. 



48 BATTLE ON 

Deposition of Elijah Sanderson. 

Elijah Sanderson's deposition of April 25, 
^775^ was used by the Provincial Congress, and, 
of course, contained nothing as to the heroism 
of Captain Parker's men. 

However, he was induced to try again, in a 
very much more detailed statement, on Dec. 17, 
1824. 

He belonged to Parker's Company, and had 
taken his place in line when the Captain ordered 
them to fall in. 

Having no musket he realized he was of no 
use, and when the British were in full sight, 
left the line and stood as a spectator, about two 
rods away. 

He saw the British commander ride up in 
advance, and heard his order to Parker's men 
to disperse, and then the order to fire, follow- 
ing- it by firing his own pistol. 

Sanderson looked for the efiPect, but saw no 
one fall, and thought the regulars could not be 
firing balls, so he did not move off. 

After Parker's men had gone he saw the 
troops firing at one man, Solomon Brown. Then 
he knew they were firing balls, for he saw the 
wall behind which Brown stood smoke from 
the bullets hitting it. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 49 

The wall saved Brown, who "legged it," as 
Sanderson expressed it, just about the time 
that he did. 

Sanderson returned after the British had 
gone, and saw blood in the road where they 
stood. 

He assisted in carrying the dead into the 
meeting house. 

Deposition of William Tidd. 

William Tidd, Lieutenant in Parker's Com- 
pany, was in line on that morning. 

Bear in mind Tidd's deposition of April 25, 
1775, in which he joined with thirty- three 
others, to the effect that while some of Parker's 
Company had reached the parade, others were 
coming up ; and while their backs were turned 
the troops fired. 

Tidd, at that time, tried to believe himself a 
loyal subject of King George. 

After the Revolution, which commenced on 
that April morning, had cancelled his allegiance, 
he felt free to amplify his first version of the 
affair. 

On Dec. 29, 1824, he swore that he heard 
one of the British officers say: — 

"Lay down your arms and disperse, ye 
rebels !" 



50 



BATTLE ON 



Then they fired. Tidd retreated up the north 
road, our present Hancock Street, pursued by 
an officer on horseback, caUing on him to stop 
or he was a dead man. 

Tidd sprang over a pair of bars, made a 
stand, and fired at his pursuer, who in turn made 
his escape. 

That statement, that he tried to kill one of 
the King's officers, would not have sounded very 
loyal in 1775. 

Deposition of Joseph Underwood. 

Joseph Underwood, one of Parker's Com- 
pany, swore, on March 7, 1825, that some of 
the men, on seeing the British approach, pro- 
posed to quit the field, but Captain Parker gave 
orders for every man to stand his ground, and 
said he would order the first man shot who 
offered to leave his post. 

Underwood swore that he was confident that 
Parker did not order his men to disperse till 
the British troops had fired the second time. 

His testimony was not taken in 1775. 

Deposition of John Munroe. 

Corporal John Munroe's deposition was taken 
Dec. 28, 1824. He swore that he was alarmed 
about 2 o'clock, — that he immediately repaired 



LEXINGTON COMMON 51 

to the Common, and that Captain Parker 
ordered the roll called, and every man to load 
his gun with powder and ball. The men were 
then dismissed and ordered to remain within 
call of the drum. 

About daybreak the drum beat, and Munroe 
took his station on the right. While the Com- 
pany was collecting, Parker, then on the left, 
gave orders for every man to stand his ground 
until he should order them to leave. While 
the drum was still beating to arms the British 
appeared within ten or twelve rods of our line, 
and continued until within about eight rods. 

An officer on horseback (whom Munroe 
erroneously thought to be Lieut.-Col. Smith), 
rode to the front and ordered our men to lay 
down their arms and disperse, and called them 
rebels. 

Finding Parker's men kept their ground, he 
ordered his troops to fire. That order, not being 
immediately obeyed, he repeated it with an 
oath, when the front platoon did fire. Another 
order was given and then a general discharge 
from the front ranks. 

After the first fire Corporal Munroe thought, 
and so stated to Ebenezer Munroe, Jr., who 
stood next to him on the left, that they had 
fired nothing but powder. 



52 BATTLE ON 

After the second volley Ebenezer Munroe, 
Jr., answered that it was more than powder, for 
he had received a wound in his arm, and that 
he would give them the guts of his gun. 

Corporal John Munroe continued his state- 
ment by saying that then they both fired, aiming 
at the main body, the smoke preventing them 
from seeing anything more than the heads of 
some of their horses. 

That statement as to smoke shows conclu- 
sively how soon after the volley fire was the 
Munroe return. 

After the second fire Corporal John Munroe 
distinctly saw Jonas Parker struggling on the 
ground, with his gun in his hand, apparently 
attempting to load it. While in that situation 
the British came up and ran him through with 
the bayonet and killed him on the spot. 

After firing the first time Munroe retreated 
about ten rods, loaded his gun a second time 
with two balls, fired at the British, and lost 
about a foot oft* the end of his gun barrel be- 
cause of the extra heavy charge. 

He also testified that he was confident other 
members of Parker's Company than himself and 
Ebenezer Munroe fired on the British. The 
regulars kept up their fire as long as any of 
Parker's men were in sight. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 53 

Isaac Muzzey, Jonathan Harrington, Robert 
Munroe, father of Corporal John, were killed 
near where the line was formed ; Samuel Had- 
ley and John Brown, after they had left the 
Common; Asahel Porter, the prisoner who at- 
tempted to escape, a few rods away ; and Caleb 
Harrington as he was attempting to leave the 
meeting house, where he and others had gone 
before the British came up, for the purpose of 
removing the powder stored there. 

Deposition of Kheneizer Munroe. 

Ebenezer Munroe swore, on April 2, 1825, 
that Parker ordered his men to stand their 
ground and not to molest the regulars unless 
they meddled with them. 

He spoke of the commanding British officer 
ordering them to disperse, and of his firing his 
pistol, and of the volley from the front rank. 

After the first volley he received the wound 
in his arm, and as he turned to run discharged 
his own gun into the main body. As he fired, 
his face being towards them, a ball cut ofif part 
of one of his earlocks, and another passed be- 
tween his arm and his body, marking his clothes. 

As they were retreating one of the Company, 
Benjamin Sampson, he believed, who was run- 
ning with him, turned and fired his piece. 



64 



BATTLE ON 



"I am confident that it was the determination 
of most of our company, in case they were fired 
upon, to return the fire." 

Ebenezer Munroe did not hear Captain 
Parker's order to disperse. 

He believed at the time that some of their 
shots took effect, and was confirmed in that 
opinion by the observations of some prisoners 
taken in the afternoon, who stated that one of 
their soldiers was wounded in the thigh, and 
that another received a shot through the hand. 

Depositon of Nathan Munroe. 

Nathan Munroe's deposition was taken Dec. 
22, 1824, and was to the effect that he was 
enrolled in Parker's Company, and knowing 
several British soldiers had gone up the road 
toward Concord, on the morning of April 18, 
he and Benjamin Tidd, at the request of Captain 
Parker, went to Bedford, and thence to 
Meriam's Corner, in Concord, to alarm the in- 
habitants of those towns. 

When they returned to Lexington Common 
the alarm bell was ringing and the Company 
collecting. 

He immediately got his arms and went to the 
parade, and heard Captain Parker's order to 
load, but not to fire unless they were fired upon. 



LEXINGTON COMMON 56 

About 5 o'clock the British appeared at the 
east end of the meeting house, near where our 
men were, and commenced firing on us. 

Munroe got over the wall into Buckman's 
land and fired at them. 

About the middle of the forenoon Captain 
Parker collected part of his Company and 
marched them towards Concord, and Nathan 
was one of them. 

They met the regulars about noon in the 
bounds of Lincoln, retreating towards Boston, 
and fired on them continuously until they met 
their reinforcements in Lexington. 

Deposition of Orderly Sergeant William 
Munroe. 

Orderly Sergeant William Munroe's depo- 
sition was taken March 7, 1825. 

At the time of the battle he was the landlord 
of Munroe Tavern. 

Sergeant Munroe made oath that he was in- 
formed early in the evening of April 18 by 
Solomon Brown that he had seen nine British 
officers coming leisurely up the road from 
Boston, and as the wind occasionally blew their 
top coats aside he could see that they were 
armed. 



56 BATTLE ON 

Sergeant Munroe, fearing they intended to 
capture Hancock and Adams, assembled a guard 
of eight men, and proceeded to the home of Rev. 
Mr. Clarke, where they were stopping. 

About midnight Revere rode up and gave the 
alarm. 

Later Munroe conducted them to the north 
part of the town, and then returned to the Com- 
mon, where he arrived about 2 o'clock. 

Captain Parker and his Company were 
paraded on the Common, a little in the rear of 
the meeting house. 

A messenger returned from towards Boston 
and reported that he could not learn there were 
any troops on the road from Boston. Parker 
then dismissed his men, with orders to assemble 
at the beat of the drum. 

About daylight Captain Thaddeus Bowman 
rode up and gave the information that the regu- 
lars were near. The drum was ordered to be 
beat, and Munroe was commanded by Parker 
to parade the Company in two ranks, which he 
did, a few rods northerly from the meeting 
house. 

The British came up, almost on the run. 
Major Pitcairn and another officer, whom Mun- 
roe erroneously called Col. Smith, rode up some 
rods in advance of their troops, and within a 



LEXINGTON COMMON 57 

few rods of Parker's Company. One gave the 
order to "lay down your arms, you rebels, and 
disperse!" and immediately fired his pistol. 
After a moment's conversation with the other 
officer Pitcairn advanced to within four rods, 
and bringing down his sword with great force, 
and with an oath, gave the order to fire. 

The front platoon of eight or nine men fired, 
but none of our men were killed or wounded. 
They immediately gave a second fire, when our 
Company began to retreat. As Munroe left the 
field he saw a person firing at the British from 
Buckman's back door, which was near his left. 
He was afterwards told that the same person, 
after firing from the back door, went to the 
front door and fired from there. 

"How many of our Company fired before 
they retreated I cannot say; but I am confident 
some of them did." 

He testified to having seen Jonas Parker 
standing in the ranks, with his balls and flints 
in his hat on the ground between his feet, and 
heard him declare that he would never run. 

He was shot down at the second fire, and 
when Munroe left he saw him struggling on the 
ground, attempting to load his gun, which he 
had, no doubt, discharged at the British. 



68 BATTLE ON 

As he lay on the ground they run him through 
with the bayonet. 

Munroe concluded his rather lengthy and very 
interesting deposition by reciting how the British 
dressed their wounded at his Tavern, which he 
had left in care of a lame man by the name of 
Raymond, who supplied them with whatever the 
house afforded. 

Afterwards, when Raymond was leaving, the 
regulars shot him, and he was found dead within, 
a few rods of the house. 

Of those ten deponents there were but two 
who gave their testimony to the Provincial Con- 
gress, Sanderson and Tidd. 

The other eight, if solicited, refused to 
comply. 

I have given a candid and complete summary 
of all of the official reports, and of all of the 
sworn statements of participants and eyewit- 
nesses that I have ever found, so far as they 
apply to Lexington Common. 

They do not agree with each other, never- 
theless it is easy to arrive at this conclusion, 
that the first armed resistance to the British 
invasion was on Lexington Common. 

As so many historians have only used the 
Narrative and Depositions of the Provincial 



LEXINGTON COMMON 59 

Congress it seems to me that it would be a de- 
sirable work for the Lexington Historical 
Society to publish it in full, or at least an 
analysis of that material, and place in opposition 
to it, equally as full, all of the other material 
that I have submitted. 

There need be no fear of the result. 

Not only publish it^ but publish it thoroughly 
and world wide; not in thin pamphlet form, 
with perishable paper covers, but as a real book, 
in sturdy binding, thick enough to carry a golden 
title on its back, thick enough to stand alone on 
the library shelf. 

Such a book has never been printed. In the 
interest of truth such a one is really needed. 

For more than seven score years that scene 
has been misrepresented. By little effort, and 
by little expense, we can make available, in con- 
venient and compact form, all of the original 
material. 

We fondly cherish the names of those who 
were slain. 

Let us also remember the names of those who 
fired back, and so changed a massacre into a 
battle; and so gave to Lexington a place in the 
world's history. 



6U BATTLE ON LEXINGTON COMMON 

Possibly some day a modest tablet in bronze 
may spell them out: 

SOLOMON BROWN, 
EBENEZER LOCK, 
EBENEZER MUNROE, JR., 
CORPORAL JOHN MUNROE, 
NATHAN MUNROE, 
JONAS PARKER, 
LIEUTENANT WILLIAM TIDD, 

AND POSSIBLY 

BENJAMIN SAMPSON. 

When we stand on that hallowed ground let 
the world stand with us, — not to view a field 
where martyrs were slain, but to look upon the 
battle ground where our soldier heroes dared to 
fight, — and dared to die! 



1 



By THB3 Samss Author 

The MOST COMPLETE Account Ever Published. 



THE BATTLE OF APRIL 19, 1775. 

In ILiHxrNGTON, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, 
Cambridge, Somerville and Charlhstown 

8vo, blue cloth, size 5hx.8k in., 187 pages, 13 portraits, battle scenes 
and maps. 

PRICE. NET, PREPAID, $1.25 



Also a Special Edition limited to 160 Numbered 
Copies, including the regular edition as above, to which are 
added all the known 

American Muster Rolls. 
This special edition is printed on deckled edged paper, 
bound in blue cloth, gilt top, untrimmed front and bottom 
edges, size 6x8|^ inches, 265 pages. 

PRICE, NET, PREPAID, $3.25 



Engaged in the battle were 
24 Towns, which sent 
74 Companies, numbering nearly 
3800 Men. 

In this SPECIAL EDITION are the Rolls of 
68 Companies, comprising over 
3600 Americans, who were actually in the battle, 

arranged by companies, and under the towns which 

sent them. 

Invaluable for Reference, and especially useful to the 
Genealogist and Family Historian. 



FRANK WARREN COBURN, 

31 Percy Road, Lexington, Mass. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




